This one’s for those folks who can’t afford a new NVidia card every 3 months. For a fraction of the price, you and up to three friends can take part in a board game recreation of last year’s scare-fest from id Software. Included in the game are 6 custom dice, 66 plastic miniatures (HellKnights, Zombies, Marines, etc), a rule book, and a scenario guide. I bet most scenarios involve you being in a claustrophobic boiler room, unable to hold a gun and a flashlight at the same time.

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Do you like the design of the Mac mini, but don’t like Apple’s software? Why not just make your own version of Apple’s latest innovation. Kevin Rose, G4 Tech TV TSS host, took a Mac Mini case, ripped it apart, and made it a PC Mini by replacing the Apple motherboard with a yet to be released Nano-ITX board. Now if only someone would make a 2Ghz+ mini system.

Opera Software will be releasing its newest Internet browser at the end of next month. This latest version talks back to the user. It also accepts voice commands. This version will have many features other than “speaking” the text on a web page for people with vision problems. This browser will also have the ability to magnify text up to 10 times, (no more fine print?) Even though this browser has many features to help visually impaired users, the company says that these features are not just for visually impaired users. Their goal is to take a first step in making human-computer interaction more natural. A nice feature is that, unlike most voice recognition software, Opera does not have to be “trained” in order to recognize the user’s voice. As technology improves, we are seeing steps in making computers smaller, more portable, with less wires, and now more interactive.

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Miniature computers, often referred to as Small Form Factor, or SFF, computers, are cropping up everywhere in the industry. With the recent release of the Mac Mini, consumers are also taking a look at other manufacturers to see what the offerings are. Dell and HP have both offered SFF computers in the past, with mixed results. Many are hoping that the Apple Mac Mini will generate industry buzz and get consumers more interested in the applications of a small computer. I know that I have wanted a small computer for some time, but have actually considered building my own. The parts are out there, and if the revolution takes off, prices will start to become more competitive. So if you need a computer to go in the living room or to sit on an already crowded desk, take a look at SFF computers.

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Macintosh, but one misconception that has persisted is the myth that Macs are incapable of using multi-button mice. And those who know this myth is false still complain about Apple not shipping computers with two button mice. Gear Live cub reporter XIcarus wanted to share a bit of background on what many believe to be Apple’s stubborness to conform.

Apple supports multi-button mice. Right out of the box. Furthermore, this is not a ‘new feature’ of OS X. Support for contextual menus (the primary use for the two button mouse) have been around since OS 8.6, which is now more than seven years old. Let me repeat, Apple supports multi-button mice. Even if you use a one button mouse, you can still access contextual menu through ‘control-clicking’ (Hold down the control key when you click the mouse button).

In a Q and A session John Connors, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft, said the following:

“In terms on the next Xbox, we haven’t announced a release. I think the next period when Robbie and the team will talk about that is at E3 in Los Angeles in May. They’re hard at work on it, but it doesn’t have a summer announce.”

We already know that J Allard will deliver the keynote address at this year’s conference. If we know Microsoft, a top level executive or Bill Gates himself will unveil any news about its next generation technology. Taking that into account, we can be almost 90% sure on some sort of announcement or demonstration at May’s game conference. This year’s E3 will be, without a doubt, one of the best in its history. Sony and Nintendo have already confirmed that they will have demonstrations of their upcoming consoles on the show. The question that remains is will the Xbox successor see a Q4 2005 launch, as EA has led us to believe?

I don’t like the sound of this, and I’m guessing you do not either. The Joint Committee on Taxation is debating on wheter it should extend the telecommunications tax to cover data as well. The Committee is trying to justify that with the growth of VOIP and WiFi phones, there will be no way to distinguish between ‘data’ packets and ‘voice’ packets. Personally, it’s all data to me and they just want to get you anyway they can. If you hate Microsoft then you may have a reason to start liking them, as Microsoft is among the top companies that are attempting to keep the IRS from taxing data.

SpyLegend.com, the Online Reality Game that pits you against your real-life friends, has launched Operation: BlueSleuth. This mission, designed for you and two other agents also equipped with Bluetooth devices, consists of carrying out covert operations in a suburban environment. Objectives include successfully transferring a passcode between two agents and transmitting the details of a false identity to a fellow agent. During this mission, a counter-spy will be deployed to attempt to sabotage the assignment. Operation: BlueSleuth is entirely web-based. There are no downloads needed and anyone with a browser and Bluetooth device can play.

Like to doodle? Like computers? Great! Art.com offers an amazingly cool web-based app called ArtPad that lets you create paintings on a digital canvas. What makes it cool is that it records all of your color selections and your brush strokes, as you paint it. Then you can save your finished piece and have others view it online in the sequence that it was painted. It’s like watching your friend paint an image right before you. The site also allows you to “speed up” the recorded painting motions or jump straight to the finished image. Click here to see how the PSP image above was created.

A few days ago we told you about how Motorola is planning on releasing multiple colors and maybe even form factors of their uber popular RAZR V3 phone. Just a couple of days later, and here is an image of the new black RAZR V3. It was reported on CNBC earlier this morning that all Oscar nominees will receive one of these new phones. No word on when, or if, we can expect to see them at retail.